Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 7-25. This time the City field is formatted as a radio button set. Now you can simply click
the right city to set the field, making this one of the fastest field formats for mouse-based entry.
WARNING
Some sneaky malcontents out there know they can Shift-click to select multiple items in a radio but-
ton set. See the box on
When Is Auto-Complete Not Useful?
to learn how calculations can control
these people's urge to get around the system.
Just as with checkbox sets, you can add an Other item to the radio button set. (See the box on
A Cautionary Tale
for more detail.)
Drop-Down Calendar
In FileMaker, you can easily read date fields, and easily set them up. But actually typing
dates into them is notoriously tricky. If you don't get just the right combination of numbers
and tiny little separators, FileMaker tells you the value you've just typed isn't valid. And if
somebody swipes your desk calendar, how are you supposed to know what numbers to type
in the first place? FileMaker can handle both these problems. It lets you give your date fields
a nifty drop-down calendar where anyone can simply point and click to enter a date.
When you first format a field with a drop-down calendar, FileMaker doesn't give you any
visual feedback letting you know a calendar is lurking there, waiting to drop down when you
tab into the field. If you want to provide a visual clue, select “Include icon to show and hide
calendar.” Then you see a teeny, tiny calendar at the right side of your field, but the drop-
down calendar itself is much larger (see
Figure 7-26
). Tiny as it is, the calendar icon still
takes up some room, so you may have to make the field a little wider to display the entire
date plus the new icon.
